


25 Days of Christmas

by magicandlight



Series: The States [37]
Category: Hetalia: Axis Powers
Genre: Christmas, Drabble Collection, Gen, I guess anyway?, twenty five days of christmas
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-01
Updated: 2017-12-25
Packaged: 2019-02-09 03:49:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 25
Words: 3,483
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12879552
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/magicandlight/pseuds/magicandlight
Summary: I accidentally put up the wrong day, I'm sooo sorry. It's fixed now though





	1. ~1~

Christmas is a sacred tradition, and preparations begin as soon as Thanksgiving dinner is cleared off the table.

Invitations are written for America's  _Holiday_  party (they weren't supposed to call it the Christmahanakwanzika party anymore).

And on the first of December, the invitations are delivered.

Nations wake up on the first to invitations on their doorsteps, neat white envelopes addressed in neatly-printed green ink. 

(Several Nations have pondered  _how_  exactly America does it- gets the invitations there in perfect condition for all of them. They knew he didn't use the postal system, because they were never postmarked. The theories range from 'assistance' from Tony to bribing messengers.)

None of them will ever guess that all Connie needs is a map and her spellbook to deliver the invitations. 


	2. ~2~

Alfred doesn't like fake trees. They don't smell nice or look as pretty as real trees. 

Callie rolls her eyes at him every year. ("You're just as bad about doing things for the aesthetic as the rest of us.")

So every year, he cuts down a tree and drags it inside. 

(And okay, sometimes he overestimates the size of the front door and has to drag the tree around the house to the back door.)

The tree finds its place in the largest living room. 

And that night at dinner, Alfred makes Talia's favorite food, and she laughs when she blows out the candles on her cake. 

 _Eventually, you'll have to stop putting the number candles on my cake_ , she says later.  _It makes me feel old_. 

 _You feel old? I must be ancient then_ , Alfred replies.


	3. ~3~

The job of decorating the tree is typically left for the younger states and territories.

A few of the older states- whichever ones are around- are drafted to make sure the others don't go crazy with the decorations, of course.

The boxes of ornaments are dragged down from the attic- from the little state flags to the assorted state symbols to the random ornaments the states have made or bought over the centuries. 

And when the states are done decorating, Alfred places the star on the top of the tree. And eventually removes the items that are  _not_  decorations ( _no Lani, you can not use your sister's scarf as a garland no matter how shiny it is, she'll be upset and it was expensive, no Sasha, you can not borrow the planets from Cordelia's solar system for the_ _tree, no Leo, you can't put Flora's snake on the tree becAUSE IT IS A LIVING CREATURE_ -)

The Third of December, aside from being the tree-decorating day, is also Cassidy's birthday, and Alfred makes sure to always at least call her if she isn't around. 


	4. ~4~

Sometimes, the presents are wrapped decently. 

Other times, they look like they were wrapped by a blind animal. 

America has a weakness for interesting wrapping paper, so usually, the end result- the stacked gifts under the tree- garish and overbearing.

He always keeps separate wrapping paper handy- ones with no Christmas symbols on them. This paper is for the December Birthdays- it seems wrong to use Christmas paper for a birthday gift. 

Sometimes, he has to hide the presents- Lani and Sasha always get a little too curious around Christmas- still possessing that childlike excitement despite their maturity. Alfred can't count the times he's caught them gently shaking their gifts, trying to find out what it is. 


	5. ~5~

On the fifth, he curls up on the couch with Lani and Sasha and marathons Christmas movies.

Sera used to join them, but these days, she couldn't get off work to watch holiday movies with him. The territories- Leo, Isa, Diego, Talia, Christy- occasionally join them, but much like his older states, they've grown up and made their own lives and no longer have the time to indulge Alfred's movie-marathon whimsies.

Occasionally though, days like this happen, with Del hogging Alfred's blankets on one side and Talia on the other, with Cass dragging Cecilia over because  _it's not fair that everybody else gets to bring their significant others so I brought mine to make it fair_  and Riley responding  _if you don't like it date an American, I believe Kit's still available_  and Kit telling both Riley and Cass to  _fuck off, I'm trying to watch the movie_. With Cordelia humming along to whatever Christmas carol is stuck in her head and playing with Kendall's hair while Tim falls asleep on him, with James arguing that  _Gremlins is totally a Christmas movie_  and Helena quietly arguing back that  _it is not_  and Cait slightly-less quietly arguing that  _well it depends on how you look at it_ from her spot in a blushing Oliver's lap. With the entire family getting along, watching the Grinch for the billionth time.


	6. ~6~

The sixth is spent one of two ways, depending on how the fifth went.

If it was just Alfred, Lani, and Sasha, maybe Sera or a territory or two, then everyone ends up in their own beds. blankets folded, snacks and movies put away. 

If it was the states, well, then it got complicated. 

Because states were just as stubborn as Alfred, they took the words _movie marathon_  to new and improved levels.

In other words, it wasn't over until everyone was passed out in the living room while Frosty the Snowman played. 

Which is what Alfred finds when he wakes up on the couch, Lani half on top of him, and Sasha clinging to his arm.

States are sprawled everywhere, and Alfred has to step carefully or risk stepping on them. 

He nearly trips over Tim's ankle, and comes very close to stepping on Cait's fingers. 

Cordelia is pressed to Michael's chest, his arms wrapped tight around her. They always did have a habit of gravitating towards each other in their sleep. Alfred briefly considers moving them, but disregards it. 

If one of the other states decide to take incriminating photos, it isn't his fault.

Alfred has just finished making coffee when he hears someone stirring in the living room. 

He goes back to try and figure out who's waking up. 

He steps into the room, eyes immediately catching on Brooke, who's sitting on the floor, Will clinging to her waist. 

Brooke shakes her head.  _Not me_ , she seems to say silently, nodding her head towards the armchair where Sera is curled into a tight ball.

Not waking up then. A nightmare. 

Alfred hesitates before he reaches for the internal bond between them. It's almost an invasion of privacy, snooping through his children's dreams and emotions. 

But Sera is having a nightmare. And he can't figure out what to do unless he knows which one it is. 

So he tugs on the bond, almost recoiling at the emotions flooding through. Fear and hurt and anger and then  _burning_. 

The 1814 one then. 

Alfred crosses the room towards his daughter, stepping over Helena and then Eli. 

He sits beside her, brushing her hair back from her face. 

Slowly, she calms as she slips into a deeper, dreamless sleep. 

Alfred smiles, noting that Evangeline has gotten up at some point and now he can smell food cooking. 

Lani stretches as she wakes, knocking Sasha off the couch. 

Off the couch, and onto Cait.

Cait yelps, lashing out in confusion and managing to both hit Oliver and kick Addison. 

Oliver wakes up, of course, cursing in French. Addison winces, eyes flickering open. 

The real problem is Caleb, who had been comfortably curled around Addy, the smaller state's back to his chest. However, his eyes open the instant Cait kicks Addy, feeling the impact and wince. The first thing he does is check for a bruise- after all, states are stronger than normal humans, and even though Addison can't really die from a kick- whether from a state or a human- her hemophilia bleeds can cause her a lot of pain. 

And then he rounds on Cait.

Brooke watches with vague interest, Will having practically attached himself to her in his sleep. She pets Will's hair absentmindedly. 

Flora pulls her pillow over her head in an attempt to block out the noise of arguing states. 

Nate just groans, standing and walking into the kitchen to help Ev.

The pile of blankets that Alfred's pretty sure is Mindy moves. For a second, Alfred thinks she's waking up. Instead, she just shifts further from Cait and Oliver and closer to Austin. 

No way any of the rest are moving anytime soon. 

It's going to be a long morning. 


	7. ~7~

The Seventh of December is a day of conflicting emotions for Alfred.

On one hand, one of the worst attacks in American history occurred on that day. Twelve warships and 188 aircraft were left damaged or destroyed. 2,403 servicemen and 68 civilians were killed.

On the other, it is the day his first state joined the union. It is Del's statehood anniversary. It is her birthday.

It is Del's birthday, and it is also the day that will live in infamy.

Del has not celebrated her birthday since 1941- has no desire to. ("I've had three human lifetimes of birthdays," Del had said, "I don't need anymore. It's alright.")

Lani does not go to school- is not required do anything, really.

The Seventh leaves everyone feeling a little melancholy. 


	8. ~8~

Alfred starts decorating on the eighth. 

Christmas lights get hung around the house, and all the decorations come out of the boxes. 

Alfred loves decorating, even if he has to carefully inspect everywhere to make sure Leo or Ev didn't hang mistletoe up. 

Mistletoe is all fun and games until someone kisses someone else's sibling/ significant other.


	9. ~9~

The ninth is the last free day before the five-birthdays-in-three-consecutive-days mess that is the next week. 

Alfred always plans to sleep. 

But somehow, he never does. 

A few years there's been a Nation meeting, and the President had called him in a few times. 

His favorite reason to be dragged out of bed, however, is Lani and her desire to make gingerbread cookies. 


	10. ~10~

Alfred thinks three birthdays in one day is pushing it. 

Matthew kindly reminds him that not only is July first Canada day-his birthday- but also Cecilia's, Brian's, Hadley's, Adrien's, and Eddie's. 

Alfred doesn't complain to Matthew anymore. 

It is a little chaotic though- Drew, Leo, and Diego all having the same birthday. 


	11. ~11~

Riley's birthday is the eleventh. 

It's rare that he's actually around instead of in his own state, but when he does, Alfred always remembers to make sugar cream pie instead of cake. 

Alfred blames Will and David for Riley's obsession with it- he'd let them watch the little states once so he could go to a meeting, and when he came back the kitchen was covered in flour and Riley had brown sugar in his hair and all he would talk about was the pie they had made. 

And that year, instead of the chocolate cake that was popular with the younger states, he'd requested sugar cream pie, and it had stuck. 

Riley, unlike certain other birthday kids (coughTalia and Drewcough), finds the number candles funny. 


	12. ~12~

Sometimes, Alfred thinks Will comes just for the food. 

Actually, he's pretty sure Will comes for the food. He isn't the most social of states. Making it even more amazing that he's dating Brooke- who's very extroverted and has a tendency to strike up a conversation with everybody and anybody. (There, apparently, had been an incident on the subway where she had started talking to a gangster about the nuances of the Italian language, of all things, and nearly gave Adrien a heart attack.)

Alfred doesn't mind cooking for Will's birthday. Pennsylvania Dutch food always manages to make him sentimental. 

Besides- Will's easy to please when it comes to food. Especially when it comes to sweet things. Which is probably why there always seems to be more cake than food when it comes to him. 

(It had always been so easy to get Will to behave as a kid- all you had to do was bribe him with sugary things and he would fall right into line. Eventually, books became an adequate substitute for sugar.)


	13. ~13~

There aren't any birthdays on the thirteenth, so Alfred sleeps. 

A lot. 

And it never fails that the states try not to wake him up, and then end up wrecking some chaos that Alfred has to get out of bed to stop.


	14. ~14~

Alfred spends the fourteenth making pie for Josh's birthday.

Josh has always liked pie better than cake.

The issue is that some years, the type of pie changes. One year might be peach, and the next could be pecan or blackberry. 

This year it's peaches, causing another issue.

The only peach trees in a five-mile radius are very much Scarlett's. 

Who doesn't let people pick without permission. 

Who left her brothers in charge of her trees. 

Brothers that can't stand Josh. 

(Eventually, Alfred gives up trying to get the Carolinas to let him pick a few peaches, and calls Scarlett. When it goes to voicemail, he calls Flora. If Scarlett seems a little breathless when she answers, well then, Alfred tries not to think about why.)

Later, Alfred decides all that trouble was worth it when he sees Josh's bright smile.


	15. ~15~

Alfred decides to go ice skating, which when you have that many states might as well be one of the trials of Hercules. Matt finds out and decides to tag along, his provinces joining. 

Of course, ice-skating evolves into a Canadians vs. Americans hockey match, which should have been expected. 

Matt facepalms when Hadley snaps at Adrien, causing him to flip her off and skate across the rink to join Brooke and Nicky on the American side, and Alfred just shrugs when Foster switches to the Canadian side in an attempt to make it even. 

Eventually, the game devolves from Canadians vs. Americans to a random jumble of states and provinces playing hockey, original teams nonexistent. 


	16. ~16~

Contrary to popular belief, Alfred can cook. And bake. 

You don't raise fifty states, five territories, four former territories, and one district without learning to cook. (The states are far more accepting of food coloring than nations.)

Most nations would be shocked to see Alfred wearing an apron, covered in flour. 

But this is a tradition. As many states as he can get to come making cookies. All sorts of cookies, and some- like the biscotti someone makes every year- not actual cookies. Classic ones like gingerbread, sugar, chocolate chip, and molasses. Then there are the cookies that show the cultural diversity- German lebkuchen* [[x]](https://www.pinterest.com/pin/607423068467128576/),  Polish chrusciki leaves* [[x]](https://www.pinterest.com/pin/607423068467128590/), Dutch Speculaas* [[x]](https://www.pinterest.com/pin/607423068467128565/). 

And then there are the fancy cookies, the ones his more baking-savvy states create- like Em's candy stripe cookie sticks* [[x]](https://www.pinterest.com/pin/607423068467129592/), or Brooke's chocolate-expresso snowcaps* [[x]](https://www.pinterest.com/pin/607423068467128604/), Ev's various thumbprint cookies* [[x]](https://www.pinterest.com/pin/607423068467128602/), or Nate's chocolate-dipped peppermint meringues [[x]](https://www.pinterest.com/pin/607423068467129558/).

Alfred's favorite part isn't the cookies, however, it's the sound of laughter and the sight of his kids smiling. 


	17. ~17~

There's a meeting on the seventeenth, and Alfred carefully makes goody bags filled with yesterday's baked goods. 

Not for every nation. No. They had collectively lost that right years ago. 

Only for certain nations- Canada and Mexico because they were family. Prussia, who had taught his children bravery. Russia, who had always been a good father to Sasha. Lithuania, because he had made his children happy. The micronations and the teenaged nations- like Sealand and Hong Kong for example- because they reminded him of his own kids.

Poland was the only adult nation who got cookies and didn't know about the states.

Because years ago, when they had first started having these meetings, the states had enthusiastically made dozens upon dozens of cookies. 

Nations brought food for meetings, of course, though it usually fell to the host nation to do so. 

And that year, Alfred had brought plates and plates of cookies- all different kinds. 

The nations had scorned them. 

Poland had snorted at the other nations arrogance had taken a plate full of cookies- sugar, shaped like stockings, pink frosting painstakingly piped onto them. 

Alfred has never forgotten the look on his children faces when he brought home those cookies- they had made enough for all of the nations, and only a few had even bothered to look twice. 

He'd brought home full plates and the states had known that the nations had rejected their cookies, and the sad, disappointed looks on their faces could have brought empires to their knees. 

(Poland lets out an excited shriek when presented with the pink frosted Christmas cookies.)


	18. ~18~

Nicky's birthday is the eighteenth. 

He's the only male state that had ever asked for icing flowers to be piped on his cake. 

He'd only got one comment ever- from Theo. 

Nicky hadn't done anything about it- hadn't cared enough to. 

But Brooke, oh, when Brooke heard. 

An important lesson- don't insult a younger brother when their older sister is within earshot. 


	19. ~19~

On the day of the Savannah Christmas Cotillion, it's impossible to get a hold of any of the Southerners. 

It's their own tradition, not to mention the one time they can get both Josh and Drew into suits. 

It was strictly Southerners. Not even Mindy or Wes were ever invited. 

Later, Alfred will see the pictures of his states and smile.


	20. ~20~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I accidentally put up the wrong day, I'm sooo sorry. It's fixed now though

On the twentieth, most of the day is spent in the airport as the rest of the states arrive. (Along with the territories, various former territories, and even Russia a few times.)

It's chaos, and Alfred really needs to remember not to let the Lani and Sasha make the signs because they try to squeeze all of the names onto one paper.

The house is so much more alive when all of the states are there.


	21. ~21~

On the twenty-first, preparations for Alfred's holiday party begin.

Del and Cam organize states into teams- two for decorating wherever Alfred has chosen to have it that year, one for handling the food and drinks, one for dealing with the issues that come up with the nations- plane tickets, scheduling errors. 

Every year they try to make the party better than before.

They have a reputation for the best parties to uphold, after all.


	22. ~22~

The day of the Nations' Holiday party is chaotic.

It's an unwritten rule that they help America set up for the Nation’s Holiday- they weren't supposed to call it the Christmahanakwanzika party anymore- Party, and then they would disappear for the duration of it- after all, America always held his party on the 22nd so he could spend Christmas Eve and Day with them, and he always held it somewhere else than where they were having their Christmas. 

Besides, during the height of the cold war they had watched live security feeds of those parties. Utah had made the mistake of counting how many nations France drunkenly made out with. She had stopped counting once it got higher than the number of years she had been a state. None of them wanted to go, anyway.


	23. ~23~

The twenty-third is no less chaotic.

The difference is that instead of setting up a party, they're cleaning up one. 

And cleaning up isn't just picking up beer bottles and solo cups. 

It's also fixing problems for the nations who left drunk and decided to get  _drunker_.

It's calling up the State Department and getting a few nations out of jail or TSA questioning. 

It's scrubbing the dishes drunk nations decided to cook with and scrubbing beer stains out of sofa cushions. 

In other words, it's more damage control than cleaning up. 


	24. ~24~

_Christmas Eve is family time._

Several bosses learn it the hard way when their calls go ignored. 

Nations have learned that America is unavailable during Christmas- actually, all three of the North American siblings are unavailable. It doesn't matter if you're calling to say hello, or to say there's a disaster, you'll still get told to fuck off. All the nations know- America and Canada and Mexico spend Christmas alone. 

There had been a meeting once, when France had said something about family and Christmas, and Mexico had snorted indelicately. "Yeah, and I'm sure you felt like that when you lot were having Nation Christmas balls and our invitations were getting 'lost in the mail.'"

It wasn't brought up again after that. 


	25. ~25~

It's truly regrettable that Lani gets up with the sun.

Because Lani wakes Sasha and the territories, and together, the cursing/excited squealing sets off a chain reaction that wakes everyone else. 

No one cares enough to get dressed that early, so Al's greeted by a collection of pajama-clad, messy-haired teenagers. 

Gifts are distributed throughout the room and opened. Alfred glares at a few forgetful states until they remember to thank the person who gave it to them.

Afterwards, states carry their new possessions back to their rooms, and they start a very late breakfast. 

And Alfred loves Christmas even more as he watches his states talk and laugh and smile.


End file.
